SWTOR: Fell Rain Part I
by Luminescent Fool
Summary: Shaa Kune, the lone survivor of a crashed republic cruiser, attempts to control a dark side influence over his mind.


**Episode II - "Fell Rain – Part I"****  
**As Written by the Luminescent Fool

Somewhere on the Surface of Dxun

Approximately 3650 BBY

It was a simple matter of focus – the ability to decipher what was real from the imagined. Or sometimes just being able to reach deep inside one's self and summon an air of sanity in an immobilizing storm of madness.

_Focus_, Shaa Kune thought behind closed eyes. That was the key - he had to focus.

Every part of him ached, inside and out. Despite this fact, he held a calm composure. He was seated on the floor of his sleeping quarters with his legs crossed in front of him. His breathing was quiet and regulated as he attempted to center himself.

Behind him, the mat of his bunk was sunken in and quite flat. The only light able to reach his place of solitude came from a shattered window in the larger, adjoining room. Regardless, he felt safer where he knew he was alone and had no chance of harming anyone due to his current state.

When the Praetorian-class frigate, _Fell Rain_, had first crash-landed on the planet moon of Dxun, there were minimal casualties. Admiral Nar Crath, the ship's commander, had previously been sent on a mission to collect some ancient archeological finds near the Japrel sector. The operation was an amazing success and their cargo holds were loaded with supplies and their bounty.

Unfortunately, they suffered a surprise attack by pirates almost immediately after completing their mission. They were left crippled and robbed of almost everything they'd recovered from the site. And, since the pirates had felt inclined to destroy their communications equipment, they were unable to radio for help. A month later they drifted unnoticed beyond the far side of Onderon and crash-landed into the dense jungles of Dxun.

Admiral Crath and his first officer had both been mortally wounded in the pirate attack. Thus, command fell to an inexperienced man by the name of Omundson. He immediately ordered the dispatch of a scout team whose job was to locate a nearby town or village. Due to the fact that the planet was inhabited by a number of dangerous creatures, the team was never heard back from. Or…that was the assumption of Shaa, anyway.

At that point in time, he had been what he considered to be a normal, sane human being. Sadly, it was only a matter of days after the crash that the first of the crew – an engineer if he remembered correctly - went on a crazed shooting spree, claiming that he saw something that no one else did. That was only the beginning of something much bigger and deadlier.

Now, Shaa was all that remained of the _Fell Rain_'s crew. Whatever it was that had affected them was late in affecting him. So, in an act of cowardice, he hid himself away in a compartment in the cargo hold while the rest of the crew turned on one another or threw themselves from the ship to land in the jungle below.

It was a completely and utterly horrifying thing. By the time the last of the crew had finally gone, his mind began to be affected. He could recall in clarity running through the empty ship, firing off a blaster while being chased by hideous monsters that weren't there. He heard the voices that told him to throw himself from the ship. The mutilated bodies of his fellow crewman would sometimes even reanimate to keep him company.

Somehow he made it through. But he was far from having control over this mysterious ailment that plagued his mind. Even now, in the adjacent room he could feel the shadow of something bolt from one place to another. He just ignored it and continued his meditation. He focused instead upon the quiet of the room and held his face upward ever so slightly.

It was then that he suddenly became aware of a powerful presence. When he let his eyes slide open, there was a figure standing directly in front of him. The face of the woman standing before him was very familiar. Hers was the only source of comfort in the hallucinations.

She stooped down upon her knees and leaned in close until the tip of her nose nearly touched his. There was a sense of urgency and genuine concern in her eyes. She reached up and touched his face, whispering something.

As with her other brief appearances, she spoke in a language that he could not understand and had not yet been able to identify. This time was different, though. She spoke in a tone that hinted that his life depended upon the comprehension of her words.

She repeated herself. Then, as suddenly as she came, she was gone.

Shaa thought he knew what she wanted, though. He rose slowly and stepped over books, scrolls and a few small artifacts that littered his floor.

She wanted him to leave the _Fell Rain_. Now.


End file.
